Creativity 50 2014: Mike Byrne

Partner, Chief Creative Officer, Anomaly

Mike Byrne and the Anomaly creative team have earned a reputation for beautiful storytelling and high-quality productions. Whether it's the "Aww-"inspiring Budweiser "Puppy Love" spot Jake Scott directed (a Super Bowl hit); the sumptuous and stylish Johnnie Walker Blue Label film released this summer starring actors Jude Law and Giancarlo Giannini; or the moving all-Americanness now associated with Dick's Sporting Goods, the agency has had a lot of hits. Still, Mr. Byrne considers himself horrible at keeping up with industry happenings.

"People will ask 'Have you seen that spot,' and I'll usually say 'I didn't, because I watch HBO and there are no commercials on HBO,'" he said. For him, the key is to consider brand-specific behavior. "There's a lot going on -- some of which it should pay attention to and some of which it should ignore," he said.

His excitement actually lies in the future, "I read tech blogs and I feel like there's always something new happening in technology," he said. From Oculus Rift to Amazon's handy "People Who Looked at This Also Bought This" utility, "Things like that get me excited," he said. "We don't pay enough attention to this in the industry."